Hsin-Lu Chang

Business–IT fit in e-procurement systems: evidence from high-technology firms in China

Abstract.  Because of the influence of globalization and updated information technologies (IT), firms in China face an urgent need to adopt e‐procurement systems (EP) to deal with their daily procurement activities. However, implementing EP in China encounters various uncertainties from internal and external business environments. To address this issue, this research aims to examine the fit between business and the IT environment and to study its impact on system performance. The literature review allows the proposal of two internal business environmental uncertainties and two external business environmental uncertainties covering the perspectives of process, knowledge, partnership and environment. Based on a multiple‐case study performed in four Chinese firms that supply various personal computer components to a Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer via an EP, it was found that the firms’ external and internal uncertainty factors affected the performance of EP. In addition, an EP with a low level of integration – the EP type used most frequently in China – can only achieve great performance when the adopting firms faced a low uncertainty of environment, partnership and process, and had low levels of IT knowledge. It was also observed that lack of fit between the business environment and EP produced extra burdens and costs in the buyer–supplier relationship. This significantly reduced the system performance of the Chinese firms. Hence, the contribution of this research can be twofold. First, practitioners in China can use this framework to diagnose their environmental conditions and then choose the appropriate type of EP to implement. Second, researchers can build upon this model to further examine the impact of fit on EP performance and generalize the results.

The Business Value of Process Sharing in Supply Chains: A Study of RosettaNet

The research described in this paper builds on process theory and the resource-based view to examine the business value of process sharing in supply chains. Extending the two-stage model developed to define firm-level IT value, a measurement system is designed for assessing five business values resulting from process sharing: direct and indirect technological value, direct and indirect process value, and relationship value. To ensure that these business values can be fully realized on the firm level, the paper examines the relationship between them and firm performance and the moderating role of collaboration levels. An empirical study conducted in the context of the RosettaNet process-sharing initiative in the high-technology industry supply chain finds that (1) improving supply chain relationships can increase firm performance as much as business processes can; (2) improving indirect values can create greater firm performance than improving direct values, and (3) value conversion is more effective at high levels of collaboration. This valuation framework contributes to the literature by confirming the range of business values offered by process sharing and also by showing which value is of primary importance to firms in their business decisions. The findings will guide firms in identifying key value components, targeting those that can lead to higher firm performance, and enhancing collaboration levels to improve the value conversion.

Assessing the Readiness of Internet-Based IOS and Evaluating Its Impact on Adoption

This study explores the readiness factors for the adoption of Internet-based inter-organizational systems (IOS) via a case analysis of fifteen Taiwanese firms. By proposing a three-dimension readiness model (readiness of firm, readiness of partners, and readiness of collaborative relationships), this study extends previous work of IOS adoption to identify critical readiness factors for Internet-based IOS adoption and examines the impacts of these readiness factors on different types of Internet-based IOS adoption, in terms of simple web-based IOS adoption, EOI (EDI on the Internet) adoption, and RosettaNet-based IOS adoption. Three findings are shown in this study: (1) The readiness of firm is an essential condition for all cases, and cases of simple web-based IOS adopters place more focus on firm readiness than other readiness dimensions; (2) EOI adopters places most emphasis on partner readiness, and (3) for the cases of RosettaNet adopters, collaborative relationships is more important than firm readiness and partner readiness.

A Roadmap to Adopting Emerging Technology in e-Business--An Empirical Study

This study explores the readiness of enterprises for developing emerging e-business technology. A three-staged e-business technology roadmap is proposed, from pre-e-business, to transactional e-business, and then to on-demand e-business. We use the diffusion of innovation theory to identify a series of enterprises’ internal capabilities and environmental drivers that can explain enterprises’ e-business adoption along our proposed roadmap. The model is validated in a survey of 175 businesses from the Taiwanese PC industry. The results show that enterprises’ internal capabilities are more influential than the environmental drivers when the enterprises move from the pre-e-business stage to the transactional e-business stage. As enterprises start to migrate to on-demand e-business, environmental factors play a critical role in determining the adoption. The implications of this study are multi-fold. Enterprises can use this model to evaluate their current readiness for the adoption of emerging e-business technology. By locating their current status in the roadmap, they can also understand the steps they should take to improve their readiness.

A comparative study of exchange and aggregation models in the B2B e-marketplace

This research seeks to provide an economic framework for understanding two major forms of e-marketplaces: aggregation-oriented vs. exchange-oriented e-marketplaces. By analyzing the marginal benefit per transaction in alternative models, we are able to determine the most suitable B2B e-marketplace for a wide variety of product categories, market conditions, and procurement methods. For example, when companies sell commodities in a fragmented market, the aggregation model is suitable for spot purchasing, and the exchange model works best for systematic purchasing. In addition, the effect of supplier consolidation and information technology-enabled cost reduction on model selection is discussed.

Market Model-Based Channel Selection in B2B E-Commerce: Exploring a Buyer's Adoption Decisions

Companies that seek to exploit the cost advantages of business-to-business (B2B) e-Commerce face a variety of strategic options. By analyzing the demand and cost functions for sellers, intermediaries, and buyers, this research develops an economic framework that clarifies the relative advantages of four common B2B e-Commerce channels: private exchange, web-based procurement, public aggregation, and public exchange. This research focuses on addressing two important questions: (1) How does a buyer select a suitable B2B e-Commerce channel (or an e-Marketplace structure) given a variety of market conditions, different levels of product substitution, and a range of purchasing patterns? (2) How does a buyer successfully manage a B2B e-Commerce channel for gaining the highest transaction-level buyer surplus? The analytic and numeric results of our study show that a companys product offerings, the market conditions it faces, and the purchase patterns it implements are all important determinants in the selection of B2B e-Commerce setting. For custom products, private networks (such as the private exchange or web-based procurement models) are more attractive than the public aggregation or exchange models. However, taking market conditions and purchasing behavior into consideration, the web-based procurement model is more suitable for spot purchasing, while the public exchange model is more suitable for systematic purchasing and fragmented markets. On the other hand, the aggregation model is preferable in concentrated markets while the exchange model is more suitable in fragmented markets. These results provide important implications for industrial development of B2B e-Commerce.

The Business Concept of Utilizing the Interactive TV

Purpose – This study seeks to explore the possibility of adopting the interactive TV (iTV) as an alternative for the PC at the user‐end and also to explore the corresponding practicability for any firm which wants to play an active role in the commerce associated with the iTV.Design/methodology/approach – Through investigating the available literature related to the architecture and commerce of the current iTV in detail, this study explores the possibility and practicability of adopting the iTV as an alternative for the PC at the user‐end.Findings – There is a feasibility for providing the direct interactivity between viewers and any firm – the feasibility that is (conceptually) ignored or (physically) blocked in the current iTV architecture. The proposed business concept emphasizes that this feasibility should be available to the firm which wants to play an active role like that in the B2C e‐commerce.Research limitations/implications – There is a limited literature about the architecture and commerce of ...

U‑Health: an example of a high ‑ quality individualized healthcare service

National Taiwan University Hospital (Taipei, Taiwan), which is one of the largest hospitals in Taiwan, is undergoing healthcare service reforms: it is combining the home healthcare service network and sensors network into a new service known as the Ubiquitous Healthcare (U-Health) service system in order to continually provide a personalized healthcare service to patients who live in remote areas. The U-Health service system is comprised of six service components that are introduced in an integrated manner: tele-education, telediagnosis, telemonitoring, teleconsultation, teletherapy and lifetime health. The target patient segments are postdischarge patients, patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases, patients suffering from chronic diseases and patients in hospice care. Since its launch in October 2009, the U-Health service system has effectively reduced the rehospitalization rate from 12% in October 2009 to 6% in May 2010 and the rate of visiting the emergency room from 21% in October 2009 to 9% in May 2010, during the 14-day postdischarge follow-up period.

Developing an IT Portfolio Approach to Justify IT Investments

Due to the rapid speed of globalization and evolving technologies, firms rely on IT much heavier than before. They use IT not just to cope with the environment, but also to gain competitive advantages. Therefore, it is important for firms to invest on the right while also critical IT with limited resources. To fulfill this need, this research aims at developing an IT portfolio method to evaluate and determine the priorities of IT investments based on three criteria: IT alignment, business value, and e-readiness. A real business practice serves as a case to demonstrate the applicability of our proposed framework. We believe the final findings are helpful to (1) practitioners who can use this framework to justify their IT investments; and (2) researchers who can build upon this model to further examine the application of IT portfolio methods.

An Exploratory Study of Risk Factors for Implementing Service-Oriented IS Projects

For IS project managers, how to implement the projects successfully is always a challenge. Further, as more and more enterprises start to develop service-oriented IS projects, it is essential to assess the sources and impacts of relevant risks. This research aimed at identifying risk factors related to service-oriented IS projects and analyzing the impact of these risk factors. Applying the SIMM (service integrated maturity model) proposed by IBM, customer service systems were selected to justify the research framework. Result showed that the risk factors influencing the adoption of service-oriented systems were insufficient technology planning, lack of expertise, ineffective project governance, and organizational misalignment, listed in the order of strength of influence. The findings of this research is expected to assist managers realize the risks and the importance of these risks that have to be noticed and controlled when making decisions on service-oriented systems adoption.